Governor Blanco's Hurricane Preparedness

Impeach Bush seems to be the name of the game on Technorati. Go figure. It's easier to write than trying to do some real research on the preparation and response to Katrina. I've been combing through the louisiana.gov website looking for relevant documents on the emergency response and preparations for the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Here are some of my findings thus far:

Governor Blanco issues a state of emergency effective August 26, 2005 and scheduled to terminate September 25, 2005 unless terminated sooner.

The state of Louisiana's emergency response and recovery program is activated under the command of the director of the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to prepare for and provide emergency support services and/or to minimize the effects of the storm's damage.

This should mean that the state's emergency preparedness plans are set in motion, the evacuation plans should be set in motion and further coordinating between state, local, and federal agencies should be underway. Later letters will make reference to this declaration.

An August 27, 2005 letter to President Bush via FEMA's Regional Director. In it, the Governor outlines what funds she needs for assistance under the federal Stafford Act. That amount is $9 million.

Estimated requirements for other Federal agency programs:
• Department of Social Services (DSS): Opening (3) Special Need Shelters (SNS) and establishing (3) on Standby. Costs estimated at $500,000 per week for each in operation.
• Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH): Opening (3) Shelters and establishing (3) on Standby. Costs estimated at $500,000 per week for each in operation.
• Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP): Providing generators and support staff for SNS and Public Shelters. Costs estimated to range from $250,000-$500,000 to support (6) Shelter generator operations.
• Louisiana State Police (LSP): Costs to support evacuations - $300,000 for a non-direct landfall.
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF): Costs to support evacuations - $200,000 for a non-direct landfall.
• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD): Costs to support evacuations - $2,000,000 for a non-direct landfall.


Totals: $ 9,000,000

Estimated Requirements for assistance under the Stafford Act:

Coordination: $0
Technical and advisory assistance: $0
Debris removal: $0
Emergency protective measures: $ 9,000,000
Individuals and Households Program (IHP): $0
Distribution of emergency supplies: $0
Other (specify): $0

Totals: $ 9,000,000
Grand Total: $ 9,000,000

An August 28, 2005 letter to President Bush via FEMA's Regional Director. In it, the Governor outlines the counties that she thinks are most likely to need aid and assistance, as well as what steps she had taken. It is noted that she asserts that the state has enacted the State Emergency Plan as of August 26, 2005 in accordance with Sec. 401 of the federal Stafford Act. Arthur C. Jones is designated as the state coordinating officer and is authorized to work with FEMA on the Governor's behalf.

The State Emergency Plan is the same plan noted above. The implementation of that plan is questionable considering Governor Blanco's August 28, 2005 press release:

“While many people are still on the roads trying to get out of the city, trafffic patterns indicate that everyone who has the ability to leave New Orleans will be able to evacuate by this evening.

“Several critical announcments must be made at this time.

1.Highway 61 will soon be closed to allow Jefferson Parish officials enough time to lay sandbags to protect the city of Kenner.

2.Also, at the State of Mississippi’s request, because of their vulnerable position on the eastern side of the storm, I-10 east bound at the Slidell I-10/I-12 interchange is closed. No traffic is being allowed to travel east on I-10 past that interchange at Slidell.

“The State Police are continuing to monitor traffic conditions. Traffic pressure on I-10 West is easing at the entry points in Orleans and Jefferson. Tropical storm winds are expected to reach the area earlier than first predicted.

“Therefore, in consultation with parish officials in Orleans and Jefferson, at this time we have stopped loading contraflow lanes. Normal traffic flow will resume.

“This does not mean that the evacuation has ended. I repeat – we are not ending evacuation. With the exception of Highway 61 and I-10 eastbound at Slidell, all evacuation routes out of the city will remain open for citizens desiring to leave this evening. Contraflow loading has ended, but evacuation has not.

We learn that traffic flows indicate that the surge of traffic due to everyone leaving town has diminished. Problem is, that among those thousands of vehicles are none of those buses that now make up the Mayor Negin Memorial Motor Pool. Thousands of people who could have been bused to safety were not. That is not in accordance to the State Emergency Plan.

The language relating to contraflow traffic being ended is confusing despite the clarification that the evacuation is not ending. If the point of the evacuation is to get everyone out of New Orleans, no one should be heading towards the city. In fact, the only people who should be heading towards New Orleans are law enforcement, traffic management officials, and emergency response.

“To those citizens who have the ability to leave, I urge you to leave now. If you cannot leave the city, I urge you to go to one of the city-sponsored shelters in the New Orleans area.

Were these shelters adequately prepared for an emergency. Experience from Hurricane Ivan should have suggested improved law enforcement presence as well as stockpiling of food and water sufficient for 3-5 days.

“I am gravely concerned about reports coming in regarding those who are choosing not to evacuation. I strongly urge you to get to safety while there is still time to do so.

Again, why was the State Emergency Plan not implemented to assist those who were unable to leave New Orleans get out of town, or at least get to those refuges of last resort?

“I am very grateful for the way this evacuation was conducted. I recognize that it is impossible to accomplish this without some frustration. But again, I want to again thank the citizens of the New Orleans area for the outstanding way you have conducted yourselves in the past 24 hours.

“We will continue to monitor the continuing evacuation during the late afternoon and evening hours and I can assure those evacuating that we will continue to have adequate State Police and other public safety personnel on hand to maintain the best possible flow of traffic.

“I urge you to continue driving safely, protecting yourselves and your family members. I urge the citizens of Louisiana to join us in prayer so that no lives are lost because of Hurricane Katrina.

“I want to thank the following people: President Bush for his concern; Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi and his outstanding team of professionals; the many governors who have called offering help;

It's clear that there weren't sufficient law enforcement on hand to deal with the situation in New Orleans. It doesn't take hindsight to realize this. The simple numbers of people on the NOPD compared with other departments suggests that they were understaffed.

Now, let's throw something else in. The federal response.
Wizbang has the Presidential response covered. It starts with a statement on

An August 26, 2005 statement declares a number of parishes disaster areas (as noted in my
earlier find).

On August 27, news reports indicate that President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate. At this time, the storm was still a category 4 storm and had not intensified to a category 5 storm. That would happen after the President made his statements. It is unclear whether they're reiterating the August 26 declaration or that another declaration for the entire state was made.

In the hours before landfall, President Bush made another appeal to people to forget everything and get out of the way of this storm.

"We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities," Bush said as the storm roared across the gulf toward New Orleans and other communities. "I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground."

With forecasters warning of a category five storm, the president made sure the federal response would not be delayed by already declaring emergencies in Mississippi and Florida just hours after a similar declaration for Louisiana. Such declarations make federal aid available to assist with disaster relief, but they are rarely made before a storm even hits.

Working from his Texas ranch, Bush participated via videoconference in a large meeting of federal, state and local disaster management officials preparing for the storm's onslaught. Separately, he spoke by phone with the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

"We will do everything in our power to help the people and the communities affected by this storm," the president said.

Note that nowhere does the federal government invoke the Stafford Act, the Insurrection Act, or try to override Posse Comitatus throughout the entire crisis to this point. The first response is to remain a state and local affair until called upon. Recall that Governor Blanco's emergency appropriation request was $9 million. Just exactly what good is $9 million in the face of finding a safe refuge for more than 100,000 people who could potentially be stranded in New Orleans based on predictions and simulations.

We know that President Bush participated in a teleconference with federal and state emergency management organizations on hurricane Katrina from his Crawford, Texas ranch on August 28, 2005. So goes the 'Bush on vacation meme' unless your idea of vacation means being plugged into work 24/7.

All of these actions by the federal government are unprecedented - no one has ever declared a state of emergency as President Bush did, nor has anyone ever undertaken the evacuation of an entire city in such a short period of time. People will pore over these details for years to come, trying to divine some hidden meaning, some unspoken truth. However, there are lost opportunities that abound in the period leading up to Katrina's landfall.

Now, there's a National Response Plan that outlines what the federal government does, but that document relies on state and local first response. It does not make the federal government the first responder. The NRP gives DHS and FEMA the authority to coordinate all federal assistance.

Note that this doesn't address political decisions years earlier to fund projects other than levee maintenance, expansion, or construction. This will be addressed elsewhere. This also doesn't address the failures of individuals at FEMA and the LA Department of Homeland Security to address the situation before and after the hurricane made landfall. It doesn't address why the LA DHS refused to allow the American Red Cross to go into New Orleans to provide food and comfort to those at the Superdome and Convention Center. The ostensible reason for the denial was because LA wanted to get complete evacuation and providing services at this time would only add to the resolve of people to stay in a hazardous situation. Hindsight is clearly 20/20 - and that was a disasterous decision. At the time those decisions were made, it was also a disasterous decision since no one in LA's government knew how to get those people out of New Orleans and to safety. So, providing food and comfort would have been prudent since most of those refugees didn't heed the advice to bring 3-5 days of food and water.